The invention is related to flow cytometry systems, and more specifically, detector arrangements for flow cytometry systems.
Flow cytometry systems are used to analyze aspects of microscopic particles, such as cells or cell sized particles. A typical flow cytometry system includes a laser aligned with a flow stream of the microscopic particles. The laser is arranged to emit a beam of light of a single wavelength at the particle which is moving in a hydrodynamically-focused stream of fluid. Typically, a number of detectors collect forward scattered, side scattered, and fluoresced light caused by the intersection of the laser beam and particle. Information derived from the collected light can be used to produce histograms, which provide physical and chemical characteristics of the particles.
Complex cytometry systems typically make use of multiple detectors which provide electrical signals derived from the collected light. The detectors are mounted to emissions modules, with each module being mechanically affixed to a particular laser via fiber optics or a pin hole arrangement. The module can provide a certain filtered wavelength of light to each detector via optics. Thus, each detector is mechanically affixed to a particular laser, and each laser requires an emissions module. When it is desired to process multiple events caused by multiple lasers, then a complex system is required, as scaling up measurement capabilities requires the addition of many detectors. Accordingly, current multiple laser cytometry systems often possess little flexibility, large size, and high cost. Prior systems have proposed using a single detector for multiple laser sources with some success. However, such systems require complex signal processing to avoid signal cross talk between lasers and errant particles. Accordingly, there is a need for improving current multiple cytometry systems.